Could the NTT IndyCar Series return to Iowa Speedway in 2022? According to Sports Business Journal’s Adam Stern, it could happen.
Stern tweeted Wednesday night that the NTT IndyCar Series are in advance talks with NASCAR about a deal to restore Iowa Speedway to the IndyCar schedule in 2022. He said if this happens, Hy-Vee will likely serve as the title sponsor. IndyCar declined to comment on the report.
Last year, NASCAR, which owns Iowa Speedway, made significant changes to the 2021 schedule by eliminating Iowa, Kentucky, and Chicagoland. The IndyCar Series used to race at those tracks. The only series to race at Iowa Speedway this year was the ARCA Menards Series.
During the pandemic last year, NASCAR canceled the Xfinity Series and Truck Series races. However, the IndyCar held a doubleheader race at Iowa Speedway.
When IndyCar announced their 2021 schedule, fans were disappointed that Iowa was not on the schedule. Roger Penske, the owner of IndyCar, is listening and is working on adding more oval tracks. Last month, Penske told RACER columnist Marshall Pruitt “When we’re looking at the entire schedule, I want to have a mix of big ovals, like Indianapolis and Texas, and then you want to have short ovals. We’d like to get to Iowa, which NASCAR controls, so we’re not in any position now to say yes, we will or we won’t, but that’s a real opportunity for us.”
The move would make sense for IndyCar because of the lack of oval races on the schedule. The IndyCar Series only has three oval tracks (Texas, Indianapolis, Gateway) on the schedule this year. Adding more oval tracks in the future will help grow the sport. Even if they can’t race at Iowa Speedway, there are other big and small oval tracks that would love to host an IndyCar race. The more oval tracks they add to combine with the street and road courses, the better the schedule will be.
